Mepaco Blog

Reliable by Design

Mepaco's Field Services team have developed a quick-read download on the seal trouble signs that our technicians see in food processing plants. Also Learn about and compare Mepaco recommended seals commonly used on our equipment.

Download the Tech Paper to learn about the Top 3 Seal trouble signs and what to do to fix them:

1. Product escapes or purges out of the seal

2. Downstream food contamination

3. Loss of vacuum

Our techs make hundreds of service calls to troubleshoot and make repairs to seals on all types of food processing equipment and in many applications. If you have any questions or have seal related issues, give Joe Hertel a call in Mepaco Field Services at 920-356-7334.

Tis the season: Are you planning maintenance during the holiday shutdown? Do you have a spare parts budget to use before year end?

The infographic is a quick guide for common Mepaco parts. Some items have a longer lead time than others. Some parts are must-have inventory items. If you have any questions about parts or timing, contact monica.planash@apachestainless.com.

Please have the model number and the serial number available for inquiries, and include the Apache/Mepaco part number on purchase orders.

Depending on the complexity of the equipment and controls, there are a few options for production personnel to learn how to operate the equipment. The manual explains the operation of the equipment and its components. The customer can visit Apache for training and testing or contract with Mepaco Field Services for on-site training.

In one example, the production staff did not understand how to operate the HD3000 Dumper, causing the carriage to bind-up where cylinders weren't lifting in tandem. The issue was caused by incorrect operation.

Due to the operational configuration of the hydraulic cylinders, the HD300 dumper must be fully cycled (complete cylinder extension and retraction) each time it is used. The production staff was not fully retracting the dumper leaving the carriage 12 - 18" off the ground. This allowed the cylinders to start up unevenly and compounded if the staff did not fully extend the dumper. This caused the dumper carriage to misalign and bind against the dumper frame.

Once the carriage binds against the frame the only way to safely correct the situation is to lock out the hydraulic power unit, disconnect the hydraulic line from the overextended cylinder and allow the carriage to drift down until it is re-timed. Once the cylinders are re-timed the power unit can be operated to bring the carriage to the fully down position. Air will need to be bled from the cylinder that had the hydraulic lines removed.

Please call Joe Hertel, Field Services Manager, at 920-219-2286 if you have any questions about the operation of Mepaco equipment or if a training visit is necessary for new personnel.

Here are the top three reasons why spare and replacement parts should be purchased from Mepaco, your equipment supplier.

Quality and accuracy. While spare parts can often be found from all types of online and catalog suppliers, will they be the quality parts needed to function properly in Mepaco equipment? Parts ordered from Mepaco are accurate to that specific piece of equipment that will provide optimal performance in your equipment.

Support. Mepaco's parts and service department have years of industry and field experience to support your maintenance team for questions, training or service.

Relationship. Parts managers have a relationship with Mepaco's parts and service department. We can help to answer your questions and provide preventative maintenance parts and make recommendations on long lead time parts. We work with our customers to meet their timelines and minimize downtime.

Our long time service expert, Greg Ebert, has retired. Greg served Mepaco for over 30 years in a technical support role. We wish Greg a very happy retirement and we thank him for sharing his expertise with our sales, service and engineering team.

Meet our new service tech team who are ready to service your equipment and troubleshooting needs, from left: Bob Dolan, Jacob Jongebloed, Mike Sutton, Ray Henry and Josh Schladweiler.

If you are in need of service, please call your sales representative or call Monica in Parts and Service at 920.356.7347 or 920-344-2085.